Im using he bottom switch as a selector switch to connect or disconnect my power supply or the field battery from the charger. It's a DPDT so as not to cross connect the two power sources. its also to turn on/off the charger since the charger does not have its own on/off control, I wanted that so I could use the field battery for other chargers using the second binding posts.

You're right about the 2200s. I'm getting anywhere from 3-6 charges depending on how hard I am on the lipos. I mostly fly the 800s and 1300s.

Im using he bottom switch as a selector switch to connect or disconnect my power supply or the field battery from the charger. It's a DPDT so as not to cross connect the two power sources. its also to turn on/off the charger since the charger does not have its own on/off control, I wanted that so I could use the field battery for other chargers using the second binding posts.

You're right about the 2200s. I'm getting anywhere from 3-6 charges depending on how hard I am on the lipos. I mostly fly the 800s and 1300s.

Got ya. Now I have reverse question. If you can turn off both inputs or one or other, then what do the other two switches do at the top? tia

Here's the whole thing in a nut shell:
Two switches at top are on/off switches. The PS to the left, field battery to the right. The field battery when on, lights up the upper binding posts and sends power to the lower switch. The PS when on, only sends power to lower switch. The lower switch is a 3 position switch. Center position is off and disconnects all power from the charger. Toggled left turns on charger via PS, toggle right turns on charger via field battery, either way light up the lower binding posts from the charger output.

I did that so when I'm home, I can charge the field battery in the case by turning on both PS and field battery with the charger toggled on via the PS. I then run jumpers from the lower binding posts to the upper posts to charge the LIFePo. I have a long balance lead which plugs into the balance board which is plugged into the charger underneath.

This way there are no plugs or wires dangling around in my case and unless turned on, no posts are live risking a short.

Here's the whole thing in a nut shell:
Two switches at top are on/off switches. The PS to the left, field battery to the right. The field battery when on, lights up the upper binding posts and sends power to the lower switch. The PS when on, only sends power to lower switch. The lower switch is a 3 position switch. Center position is off and disconnects all power from the charger. Toggled left turns on charger via PS, toggle right turns on charger via field battery, either way light up the lower binding posts from the charger output.

I did that so when I'm home, I can charge the field battery in the case by turning on both PS and field battery with the charger toggled on via the PS. I then run jumpers from the lower binding posts to the upper posts to charge the LIFePo. I have a long balance lead which plugs into the balance board which is plugged into the charger underneath.

This way there are no plugs or wires dangling around in my case and unless turned on, no posts are live risking a short.

Here's the whole thing in a nut shell:
Two switches at top are on/off switches. The PS to the left, field battery to the right. The field battery when on, lights up the upper binding posts and sends power to the lower switch. The PS when on, only sends power to lower switch. The lower switch is a 3 position switch. Center position is off and disconnects all power from the charger. Toggled left turns on charger via PS, toggle right turns on charger via field battery, either way light up the lower binding posts from the charger output.

I did that so when I'm home, I can charge the field battery in the case by turning on both PS and field battery with the charger toggled on via the PS. I then run jumpers from the lower binding posts to the upper posts to charge the LIFePo. I have a long balance lead which plugs into the balance board which is plugged into the charger underneath.

This way there are no plugs or wires dangling around in my case and unless turned on, no posts are live risking a short.

Hope this made sense as it works wonderfully.

For the power supply switch, is it switching off the AC side or DC output side? tia

It controls the AC side. I removed the original power switch on the power supply, extended the wires and connected to the toggle on the lid.

I need to take finished pics but I still have to figure out a nice clean way to plug in the ac power cord so it's removable. A power plug mounted on the case is the only thing I need, radio shack doesn't sell them and I don't want to pay shipping from digi-key or mouser for just one item.

It controls the AC side. I removed the original power switch on the power supply, extended the wires and connected to the toggle on the lid.

I need to take finished pics but I still have to figure out a nice clean way to plug in the ac power cord so it's removable. A power plug mounted on the case is the only thing I need, radio shack doesn't sell them and I don't want to pay shipping from digi-key or mouser for just one item.

I was charging my headway lifepo4 4s-10ah field battery with my icharger 106b, and it takes what seems to be a really long time. Not only that but it won't charge the pack above 13.8v. I'm charging at 1c and the cells seem to have a delta of .2 volts between each other. For example cell 1 has 3.35 and cell 2 has 3.55. Is it just that I'm not letting it balance long enough? My charger is set for a 120 minute cutoff and it timed out.....

I was charging my headway lifepo4 4s-10ah field battery with my icharger 106b, and it takes what seems to be a really long time. Not only that but it won't charge the pack above 13.8v. I'm charging at 1c and the cells seem to have a delta of .2 volts between each other. For example cell 1 has 3.35 and cell 2 has 3.55. Is it just that I'm not letting it balance long enough? My charger is set for a 120 minute cutoff and it timed out.....

I don't have lifepo4 to compare, but I would say yes. It should CC to 14.4v and then CV to current drop off trigger. It smells like it just needed more time. I have had similar question on my 12v AGM as I wait. Takes a long time at proper C rate. Maybe more like 3.5 to 4 hours I think.

This was orginally stating the same problem I wrote about earlier, but after 4 hours on the charger, the 4s 10Ah pack is now at 14.4 volts. I had to change the balance setting from Auto to CV on the icharger 106b.

The general approach is correct. It is better to recharge often than to buy lots of small packs.

But a LiPo is not the ideal field battery, as the calendar life is not very long.

I prefer LiFePo, and thinking in bigger dimensions.

This is my latest project. The case is still unfinished.

5s3p 8Ah Headway cells.

I use a 40 amphour 24 volt head way pack, that was assembled overseas. It is the best purchase I have made in RC in recent years despite the A$900 cost. I went with 24 volt to allow for high wattage charging of bigger packs

1. Light and portable compared to either Leadacid battery (useless for this job) or a petrol generator
2. Is perfectly capable of charging an 8S pack at 15 amps at least 5 times + 5S 2200 pack several times (I haven't needed to do more at the field )
3. Seems to be working just as well as the day I bought it. However I have not actually tested to see if its useful capacity is declining.

As I say for someone who wants to avoid a generator and likes to recharge big packs at the field quickly without breaking your back these packs are the answer. Based on my experience I would thoroughly recommend the headway cells (but its only one sample)

So cell 3 of my 4s headway pack seems to jump to 3.6 volts within a minute of charging while the others stay at 3.3 or 3.4.....this cuts the charger to a balance trickle of .12 amps. After 6 hours it will charge to 14.4 but after settling and checking it a day later, all cells are back to 3.3 or so with a total pack of 13.4v. It won't stay above 14v

You're not missing anything. What you're experiencing is a characteristic of LiFe chemistry and cells will settle to 3.3-3.4 volts not long after charging. This is normal and they are not losing charge capacity. This can be verified by popping on your charger again and I'm certain that you'll see that they swiftly return to 3.6 volts.

I've gotten into 3d foamies over the summer, mostly Twisted Hobbies stuff and flying with 2s and 3s packs about 500mah. This set up has let me fly entire weekends without need for AC power. Dozens and dozens of flights.

Go home and recharge...the batteries and myself...and wait for the next good weather pattern.

If you are mostly using small batteries I highly recommend this small, light and easily maintainable system.

I've gotten into 3d foamies over the summer, mostly Twisted Hobbies stuff and flying with 2s and 3s packs about 500mah. This set up has let me fly entire weekends without need for AC power. Dozens and dozens of flights.

Go home and recharge...the batteries and myself...and wait for the next good weather pattern.

If you are mostly using small batteries I highly recommend this small, light and easily maintainable system.

That's great but just remember that you can't charge them up too far in advance. You never want to leave your LiPo's in a fully charged state any longer than necessary.